I have several weaknesses, and cool office supplies is definitely one of them (mini sized things and cupcakes are close behind). Recently, several sizes of Post-it Big Notes caught my eye as I wandered up and down the Staples aisles. How could I resist? Post-it notes are a teacher’s best friend, and there are so many uses for them. With a regular sized Post-it note, my favorite activity is to print rubrics with them LIKE THIS. But, the giant Post-it notes opened up a whole new catalog of classroom activity ideas.

I decided I needed an activity tout de suite for the giant sized sticky papers. I emailed the 8th grade teachers to see if we could plan a group activity to review summer reading the first week back at school. I wanted the students to compare aspects of a hero. Both grades read books over the summer that dealt with heroes and mixing the two groups helped encourage more discussion about the topic.

We asked the students to create a thinking web. The students wrote the word hero in the middle of the sticky note. Students added words that describe a hero to the first layer of the web. Attached to the vocabulary words, students added details from their summer reading books that supported the descriptive words. Finally, the students made a generalization about heroes. The older students read Unbroken by Hillebrand and my students read Poppy by Avi. Even though the books are vastly different, there was quite a bit of common ground. The finished webs helped the 8th graders develop an essay about what makes a person a hero. The 4th graders used the webs to trace Poppy’s hero’s journey.

Since we could move the Post-it notes and stick them to the board, walls, or other areas around the room, the students could easily compare ideas with other students. I could have students working in different locations whether they were standing up or sitting down, and we could move and group the giant notes based on our different discussions.

Other Ways to Use Post-it Notes with Students

• Have students write their favorite detail from a story and then move them into the order that follows the story plot.
• At the end of a unit, have one giant Post-it note for a specific sub-topic or concept within the unit. Students add notes about the topic. Each Post-it note becomes ideas for a paragraph in a writing assignment or summary of the pieces of a unit to build a final overview of the unit.
• Write the title of the novel you are using as a read aloud, in reading groups, or in book clubs at the top of the Post-it note. As students find favorite quotes, copy the quote on the big paper. Or, copy quotes onto regular sized Post-it notes and attach to the big Post-it. Quotes can be moved or grouped to reveal character information, themes, conflicts, etc.
• Write a book genre name at the top of the Post-it. As students complete books, they add a title that matches the genre to the appropriate big Post-it. The book lists become a book recommendation wall. In place of writing the title, you could print a small image of the book cover and attach the picture to the giant Post-it.
• Practice perspective and point of view by pasting an image that includes a group of people in the middle of the big note and assign a group of students to each Post-it. Students practice point of view by making a comment from the point of view of people in the picture using first person, third person, third person limited, etc.
• Write a spelling rule, pattern, root word, or any specific vocabulary “family” at the top of the paper. Add examples as you find them and keep the Post-it in view, so student can see the growing list. This would work well in science and social studies classes too.
• Design a timeline for history topics. Label a Post-it for a time period and add notes, images, ideas to the Post-it. As you study new periods, stick the Post-its side-by-side in time order. It is a great visual to see progression in technology, culture, industry, movement of people and goods, and other themes.
• Write a topic or concept that you are studying in class at the top of the Post-it. Any time students find examples in their daily life, they write the example on the big note. If you are reviewing comparative adjectives, students can write words they use during the day that are this type of adjective (faster, slower, sharper, colder…). This idea would also work well in a math class, so students could see a variety of examples of a new concept.
• Any type of anchor chart! The fact that the Post-it paper sticks to most surfaces and can be moved and re-stuck is great for teacher anchor charts. You can have the information in a prominent area and then move it to a side location in your classroom where it can still be viewed but is not taking up prime real estate.

There is one drawback to the big Post-it notes– the price. They are a little more expensive than chart paper, so I am saving them for special activities. To read about more classroom activity ideas, CLICK HERE and HERE.